THE earnings season for the fourth and final quarter of 2020 has yet to come to an end — a one-month extension was given by the regulators as a temporary relief measure because of the Covid-19 pandemic — but based on companies that have already submitted their reports, results are encouraging. A quick look at 270 listed companies on Bursa Malaysia with a market capitalisation of RM500 million or more shows that 151 recorded an improvement in quarterly earnings while 119 reported a decline. RHB Research, in a March 2 strategy note, describes the December 2020 quarter as encouraging, with 2021-2022 forecast core earnings still largely intact — notwithstanding a last-minute RM2.83 billion global settlement provision by AMMB Holdings Bhd and excluding positive earnings revisions for rubber glove stocks.